A/N: Please write reviews for this, I cannot even begin to explain how ecstatic I will be if you do. Criticism is greatly appreciated. Oh, and there's more to come, enjoy!
I opened my eyes, but saw nothing. My heart started pounding faster, telling me to run, that something was amiss. But where do I run? I can't see. I clawed at the nothingness in front of me, in hopes of finding an object to grab, to cling to. I was so afraid, I decided to sit down and cower. Too scared to yell, or even whisper. Suddenly the lights flickered a few feet away from me, soon after the whole room was lit. A thick wave of relief crashed over me, but with it so did fear. The walls of the room around me were discolored and dirty; there were bloodstains. I stood up and looked around quickly, imagining the horrors awaiting me. But there wasn't anything in the room but myself. I wondered how I'd gotten myself in this desolate place, with no doors, no windows...
I noticed a tape player lying on the ground. I picked it up and pressed play, the voice that came out was strange and deep.
"Hello Madison, I'd like to play a game. Right now you have a slow-acting poison coursing through your veins. It's a bit like what you do to yourself everyday, except much faster. The only way to avoid your demise is to find the antidote I have hidden. You have until seven to do so. Remember to look for the 'X'."
The tape clicked off. I felt hot tears spill from my eyes as I began to walk in circles. Why is this happening to me? What does he mean, 'like I do to myself everyday'? Does he mean drinking? That's not… well, it's not straight poison! My mind started to ache in confusion. I glanced around the room for a clock, it was five minutes to two; I had only six hours to save my life! I had to think fast… this couldn't be the end…
Wait. What was that last part of the tape? I rewound the tape player back a bit and hit play. "…Seven to do so. Remember to look for the 'X'."Remember the 'X'! I scanned the walls frantically for it, but it was nowhere to be found. I buried my head in my hands and then stared at the ceiling. In the corner of the ceiling was a dusty, white surveillance camera. My heart jumped violently as I realized that someone was watching me… I shivered. I stepped closer to the camera, wondering what they were thinking, what they were doing. I didn't care; I glowered at the camera with all the hate I could muster. I glanced at the clock, now it was two-fifteen. I had to calm down, I needed to clear my mind and think rationally. Where would an 'X' be? The room was empty; there was nothing in it, except for me…
Oh, god, no. This is a joke, right? I examined my arms and legs, nothing there. I lifted my shirt up a bit and checked my stomach… nothing there, either. I sighed in relief; at least I wouldn't have to hurt myself. I began to wonder if there actually was an antidote, maybe I wasn't even poisoned. But, I couldn't just sit and wish for someone to come and save me. Even if I wasn't poisoned, I'd die of starvation. My hair started to stand on end, the thought of dying here, so cold and lonely… once again the tears fell. I circled the room, scanning the walls again, so desperate. As I walked around, the floor made a creaking noise, and one of the floor boards below lifted a bit. I looked down; there was the 'X'! It was almost the same color of the floor. I kneeled down and tried to lift the loose board, it came out quickly. Underneath there was more flooring, but I could see a tiny bit of light creeping through the side. I tore off the boards beside it; it was so easy; this was obviously the way I was supposed to go. It was like a trap door, except instead of a door, it was boarded up. Once all the boards were off, I walked slowly down the stairs.
The new room was just as scary as the last, except there was actually something in it. In the middle of the room there was a key and another tape player. On the other side of the room was a door. The key must open the door, right? And the door must lead to the antidote! I started to run over to the key and then suddenly I heard a quick snap. I stopped immediately, scared stiff. A liquid fell on top on the key from above, I looked up and saw a tiny bucket tied to ceiling, turned up-side down. I looked back to the key, it was making a hissing noise and there was smoke coming up. I went to pick it up, but now it was melting! It must have been some sort of acid… I shivered at the thought of it pouring over me. I turned to the tape player, what was he going to say now? I quickly tapped the play button and held my breath.
"If you are listening to this, it means you've triggered a chain of reactions by breaking the small, yet noticeable string. Perhaps you should have thought before acting… just like you should have before you cost your friends their lives."
My heart thudded harder against my rib cage as he brought back the memories of that horrible night. Who did he think he was? How did he even know about that? Those questions led back to square one: Why am I even here?
The tape continued. "As you can see… the key is useless. It was the key to the door in front of you, the door which beyond it lays an antidote. It would be quite simple, really… that is, if you had the key. But getting to the antidote now will be much harder. I suggest you start looking for an alternative way out, the clock is ticking."
I did as I was told, not that I needed to be. Like before, I struggled to find some sort of secret false wall, or maybe I had to find an 'X' again. My eyes started to burn and swell with tears. I decided to check the time, though I should be continuing to search. I climbed the small amount of stairs and tried to push the trap door up, it wouldn't budge. So it locked itself? Now I couldn't even know how much time I had left. I went back down and clenched my teeth. I felt anger pulsing through my body. I kicked off into a run and sprinted straight towards the door. I jumped at it when I was close enough and sent my foot flying at the door. I fell backwards and hit the cold floor, but I thought I'd actually broken the door. I sat up and frowned at my stupidity. There must have been iron behind the door, my whole leg throbbed. I got up and leaned against the stone wall, tapping out a melody with my fingers. There's no way I'd die here, in this… dilapidated, un-kempt… dungeon. I wanted to continue insulting everything, but that was not the way out. Something about the wall in front of me was different; it was slightly a lighter color than the rest of the walls. I walked over to it and pressed my hands against the wall. It felt like Styrofoam. It sure didn't look like Styrofoam, but I pounded my fists at it, I made a small dent in the wall!
I felt almost exultant as I scratched and tore away at the Styrofoam wall. Soon I had a big enough hole to see what was in the next room. My throat seized up as I saw the blood splattered around the dead body. It looked like a man; with short black hair… his other features were hard to make out. My hands shook as I removed more Styrofoam. This was too much, I couldn't handle it. How can this psycho expect so much of me? I couldn't even hear my heart beating anymore. I squeezed through the small hole I'd made and studied the scene. My body couldn't stop shivering. I noticed two long bars on both sides of the dead man's body. They had big, sharp, jagged spears sticking out of their sides. I kept my distance. Also, there were open shackles hanging from the ceiling and from the ground. I tried to piece together what happened, but then I saw yet another tape player – it wasn't for me. It was sitting right next to the corpse, stained with blood. I cringed and reached slowly for the player. I got it and shuffled away from the bloody part of the room. It made the familiar static noise before starting.
"Hello Don. All your life you've hung on to other people to live. You're always taking, never giving. I'm giving you something too – a chance to save your life. The chains holding you in place are… easy to unlock. The spears in the bars beside your legs will come out if you tug the chains down. Tug hard enough and you will be released. You have two minutes to do so before the spears beside your head are released. Live or die, make your choice."
I glanced at Don's lifeless body and my stomach dropped. He only had two minutes to completely maim his legs, and here I am with six hours, and no pain… so far. I started to wonder about how this maniac made these death traps. I walked around the room, looking for something that was meant for me. Maybe I wasn't supposed to find that fake wall. Maybe there were people all around this place having to escape from death traps. If you do escape, what happens then? Does he kill you anyway? I had to stop thinking these things; I was starting to breath heavily. I had to keep a clear mind. Ha, I guess that's the opposite of what I usually think. Maybe I should be here. I always denied it when people accused me of being an alcoholic, but this has made me realize…
…That I really crave wine. White, preferably. I really am a drunk… if I get out of here… maybe… I could try treatment, maybe. But I had to find an antidote first. I shook out of my stupor and started my search once again. Immediately I noticed a dark hallway. It was the only way out, I knew I had to do it… but my nerves were not on my side. Shaking, I entered the dark, musty hallway.
As I continued down the long, dark hall, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I paused and looked behind me; there was nothing except the inviting light of the previous room. No matter how dark and mysterious the next place was, I was not going back in there unless I had to. I tried to brush away the tears, but they were dried on my cheeks; soon to be replaced by fresh ones. My pace quickened, and so did my heart rate. I noticed that I had no way of telling if I had made it out of the tunnel. There was no light ahead; I could already be in another room. I froze in place and tried to feel any walls that might be beside me, there wasn't any. Suddenly, there was light. The whole area was lighted. My eyes adjusted immediately and I scanned my surroundings. Suddenly, I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me. For a short second I felt pressure and then pain on the back of my head, then nothing. My body flinched and fell to the ground and then everything went black.